March 11, 2004

Back-handed optimism, grace à academe

Well, according to this professor of sociology, our great political problem today is that people are becoming increasingly “disengaged” from politics and seem more interested in carrying out “voyages of self-discovery” than in imposing their beliefs and ideals on everyone else. He even seems legitimately upset that: “Today the question of who you vote for is seen as barely significant, and self-identity is viewed far more in terms of individuals’ lifestyles, cultural habits and personal experiences.” Wow, astounding. Perhaps my pessimism about the future is misplaced. I have always thought that a distinguishing feature of sociological writing is its tendency to establish totally arbitrary value-dichotomies and then to adopt a bizarrely impassioned attitude towards them, but all I can say is, with problems like these, who needs benefits?